Podcasts
The Imagination Desk
In this occasional audio series, we chat with artists, scholars, scientists, and technologists about what inspires them and how they define and use imagination in their work. You can follow and subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, RadioPublic, and Libsyn.
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This episode of Imagination Desk features Fabrice Guerrier. In this conversation, Fabrice discusses how he uses imagination, and how imagination can be used to create better social futures.

This episode of the Imagination Desk features Laura Tohe, poet laureate of the Navajo Nation for 2015-2019, discussing how imagination informs her work and how it is used in both the poetry community and Indigenous communities.

This episode of Imagination Desk features Corey Pressman. In this conversation, Corey discusses what applied imagination means to him, his work, and the future.

Katie Bouman is an assistant professor of computing and mathematical sciences, electrical engineering, and astronomy at Caltech in Pasadena, California. In this episode, we talk about scientific collaboration, imagination, and Katie’s work on the Event...

Regina Kanyu Wang is a science fiction writer, researcher, and critic from Shanghai. She is now based at the University of Oslo, where she is part of the CoFUTURES project. In this conversation, we talk about the Chinese science fiction scene, its fan ...

Moya Bailey is a Black queer feminist scholar, writer, and activist. She is the co-author of #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice and has a new book Misogynoir Transformed: Black Women’s Digital Resistance coming out May 2021. In this ...

Troy L. Wiggins is a writer and editor with a focus on Black speculative fiction and social justice. In this episode of The Imagination Desk, we chat with Troy about power of speculative art as a tool for Black people around the world to reckon with t...

This episode of The Imagination Desk features Jonathan Alexander. Jonathan is Professor of English and Informatics at The University of California, Irvine and author of books such as Writing Youth: Young Adult Fiction as Literacy Sponsorship (2016) and...

This episode of The Imagination Desk features the band YACHT or Young Americans Challenging High Technology. We spoke with them about their new album Chain Tripping and it's use of machine learning.

This episode of The Imagination Desk features science fiction heavy-weight Paolo Bacigalupi, author of The Water Knife and Shipbreaker. We caught up with him in this bonus episode to discuss the changes in his writing process as well as his latest proj...

This episode of The Imagination Desk features Maureen McHugh. Maureen is an author and narrative designer who has worked on some of the biggest transmedia stories and alternate reality games (ARGs) in the history of the medium including The Beast for S...

This episode of The Imagination Desk features Matt Derby. Matt is a writer and designer who works on innovative media projects where these two disciplines meet. Matt is a designer at the game studio Harmonix, the co-writer of the serialized fiction pod...
Imagining Intelligence
Science fiction has long speculated about thinking machines and engineered beings. Now, with artificial intelligence becoming ubiquitous, let’s learn from these stories to navigate towards a future we want.
In this series, futurist Brian David Johnson talks with science fiction authors, researchers, technologists, activists, and policy makers to explore the human dimensions of machine intelligence. Subscribe on Libsyn.

In this episode of the Imagination Desk, we sat down with ASU futurist in residence Brian David Johnson. In this chat, we talk with Brian about his work on artificial intelligence and introduce his new podcast called Sci-Fi House Presents Imagining Int...

In this episode, Brian David Johnson gathers science fiction authors, researchers, technologists, and activists at the annual SXSW conference to explore the human dimensions of machine intelligence. Guests: - Tiffany Li https://tiffanyli.com/ - Saayeli...

In this episode, Brian David Johnson gathers Kade Crockford, Eliot Peper, Tim O'Reilly, and Malka Older at the annual SXSW conference to discuss what sci-fi can teach us when it comes to how we think of AI today and how it can shape the future. Guests...

In this episode, Brian David Johnson talks with guests about the future of AI and what we should be optimizing for. Guests: Douglas Rushkoff (@rushkoff) August Cole (@august_cole) Chris Noessl (@chrisnoessel) Alida Draudt https://www.alidadraudt.com/ L...

In this episode, Brian David Johnson talks with guests about their favorite AI's and non-typical AI's. Guests: Laura Moy (@lauramoy) Rashida Richardson https://www.rashidarichardson.com Tim Fernholz (@TimFernholz_ Alida Draudt https://www.alidadraudt....

In this season finale BDJ talks with guests about the shortcomings of AI, the perils of deploying it too early, and what gives them hope for the future of AI. Guests: Cory Doctorow (@doctorow) Kade Crockford (@onekade) August Cole (@august_cole) Ellio...
This episode of The Imagination Desk features Lisa K. Solomon. In this conversation, Lisa talks about practicing imagination in the classroom, listening to and learning from our peers, and collaboratively building inclusive futures. Lisa Kay Solomon is...
This episode of The Imagination Desk features Corey Pressman. In this conversation, Corey discusses inquisitive topics including the effects of imagination on mental health and culture, the link between imagination and materialism, and how he uses imag...
This episode of The Imagination Desk features Laura Tohe. In this conversation, Laura dives into the role imagination plays in communities, specifically Navajo communities. We also discuss the importance of language in her community, and the impact of ...
This episode of The Imagination Desk features Fabrice Guerrier, who sits down with us to explore topics including the relationship between imagination and the physical world, how imagination can be used to to come up with better solutions to current is...